Shouting in the Dark

This exquisite program by May Ying Welsh shows the terrible repression against peaceful protesters in Bahrain.

Women and Political Participation

Country	Year women received right to vote or stand for election	Year  women first elected (E) or appointed (A) to parliament	% Parliamentary Seats Occupied by Women 1995        2008                   Jan. 2011
Algeria	1962	1962 (A)	7	7.7	7.7
Bahrain	1973+	2006	0	2.5	2.5
Egypt	1956	1957 (E)	2	1.8	12.7
Iran	1963	1963 (A)	4	2.8	2.8
Iraq	1980	1980 (E)	11	25.5	25.2
Jordan	1974	1989 (A)	1	6	10.8
Kuwait	2005	2009 (E)	0	0	7.7
Lebanon	1952	1991 (A)	2	4.7	3.1
Libya	1964	+	0	7.7	7.7
Morocco	1963	1993 (E)	1	10.5	10.5
Oman	**	**	0	0	0
Qatar	**	**	0	0	0
Saudi Arabia	**	**	0	0	0
Syria	1953	1973 (E)	10	12.4	12.4
Turkey	1930	1934 (E)		9.1	9.1
Tunisia	1959	1959 (E)	7	22.8	27.6
UAE	2006	2006 (A)	0	22.5	22.5
Yemen	1967***	1990 (E+)	1	0	0.3

Sources: Interparliamentary Union, Women in National Parliaments http://www.ipu.org/wmn-e/classif.htm last accessed February 2011; and UN, The World’s Women 2000, Table 6A and its updated on-line version as of 28 June 2005. +No information or confirmation available ** Women’s right to vote and to stand for election not yet recognized. *** Refers to the former People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen